When I calculate my calories needed it shows my maintenance number is 2500 so I've been eating around 1800 calories a day. I've slowly lost the pounds I have over the last 11 months very slowly and not intentionally per se. I've been counting calories faithfully for four weeks and have lost 4 pounds. My first goal is 170 by February 26th when I have to sing multiple songs in a wedding and be up front in front of hundreds of people. That's 18 pounds in nearly 13 weeks - not undoable I believe.

My plan for the month of December is to walk 60 minutes a day on the treadmill 6 days a week. I also plan to do some weight training on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Will this do the trick? I know the weight training will allow me to maintain the lean body mass I do have while burning calories. I do wear a Polar Heart Rate Monitor while working out as well.

Also - do you eat back the calories you burn? I've read many places you're supposed to but it seems wrong to me - today alone i burned 475 calories which would put me eating nearly 2300 calories which to me isn't creating the deficit you need to lose.

Your plan sounds great. I never eat the calories I burn...defeats the purpose. Also, as you lose, you'll need to decrease your calories, so keep that in mind. Finally, I recommend your weight training not be light at all. Heavy weights until you can't lift anymore. The more intense (as long as you don't hurt yourself, of course), the more muscle you'll build and the faster your metabolism. Way to go on a great plan!

Oh no, no. I never eat back the calories I burn (not that I could accurately know what they were), that would be totally counterproductive. The idea is to create more of a calorie deficit through exercise, to eat them back would defeat the purpose.

I think 2500 calories as your maintenance calories is very much on the high side. Very much.

I'd also be on the look out for your weight loss to either come to a crawl or stop all together, though of course only time will tell. 1800 just may be too many calories to keep on creating that calorie deficit as you get lighter. If it does, I'd be prepared to shave those cals back a couple of hundred. But again, only time will tell.

You're doing great. Keep at it and all your goals can and will be met.

the only time I up my calories that I burn is if I'm hiking or biking long distance and burning over 1000 in a day. Then I eat probably an extra 500 or so, even if I've burned a few thousand. Or I'll eat some extra the next day, since a ton of hiking or biking can lower my appetite that day.

One thing about the weight training: when I was working with a personal trainer, I only did weights every other day. My trainer told me that this was to let my muscles heal properly, while cardio was okay to do every day.

Don't be surprised if your weight fluctuates a bit while your body gets used to the new routine.

I would say that if you've lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks at 1800 calories you might want to decrease your number of calories. If you kept up losing at the rate you have been then that's only 13 pounds in 13 weeks and really you probably wont continue to lose that much the lighter you get. I would definitely lower your calories, and I wouldn't eat back the calories you burn. I've never understood that.

One thing about the weight training: when I was working with a personal trainer, I only did weights every other day. My trainer told me that this was to let my muscles heal properly, while cardio was okay to do every day.

Don't be surprised if your weight fluctuates a bit while your body gets used to the new routine.

True, but it's ok if you do different muscle groups back to back. One day could be lower body, one day biceps/triceps, one day shoulders/back, one day abs, etc.

I agree with Sea Girl on eating calories back. If I take on a mountain and my body tells me it's too much, I'll eat more. I can tell when my blood sugar is low. But for day to day exercise, no I do not eat back my calories. It defeats the purpose, as has been said already.

I wouldn't eat back the calories you burn. I've never understood that.

Eating back some of the calories makes sense if you're wanting to maintain your weight, because then obviously you wouldn't want to be creating a deficit. But when you're trying to lose, no, there's no need to eat back any of the calories, except for in the examples above where they're burning at extra 1,000+ in a day by hiking or whatever.

And for OP, really make sure you lower the calories as your weight decreases. You don't need to do it for every single pound, but if the loss stalls, reevaluate and see if dropping more helps Your plan looks good, though.

__________________

Normal BMI

The aim of life is self-development. To realise one's nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for.

You could also try calculating the maintenance calories for your goal weight, and adjust your current calories to an amount closer to that. That should definitely help with weight loss, and has the added bonus of getting you used to how you'll be eating when you're ready to maintain.

Also, if you didn't know, calorie calculators (online or on exercise machines or gaming systems) are just ESTIMATIONS. They aren't perfect. Your body is unique to you and the amount of calories it burns or how many calories in deficit you need to lose is going to vary from what those calculations say. It's not perfect math.